To Hobbes
by iwomans-sister
Summary: When an FBI Agent goes bad, Hobbes, Alex, and Darien end up in the case looking for him. But with every turn they take something else goes wrong.


Title: To Hobbes

Author: iwomans_sister

Disclaimer: What's that? Man, do I have to? Fine! I don't own the characters from I-Man. Though I wish I did. :)

Email: Naomi@secet-agent.com

Spoilers: Cat and Mouse, The Camp, Den of Thieves, TIoBE, and TNS.

Rating: PG-13, for violence and language.

Genre: Umm, Angst... What? You think I would want to write something else?

WARNING: There is a character death toward the end of the fic... There, you've been warned.

Authors Note: This is just a fic idea I had while in English class. Yeah, like I was really paying attention to my studies. Oh yeah, you might want some Kleenex... *Hands out a box of tissue*

~*~

Darien looked out the window of the van; it was a beautiful day. It was so peaceful it almost seemed like nothing could go wrong. Hobbes started to talk again. "You know Fawkes, I read this article the other day. It said that only 67% of people nowadays are willing to die for a friend and only 13% are willing to die for an enemy."

"Really?" Darien asked, pretending to be interested.

"What do you think about that?"

"Hmm?" 

"What do you think about those statistics?" Hobbes asked, looking from Darien to the road again.

"Well, the way I see it is, why die for someone that wouldn't die for you? It's just a waste of your time. Lots of people have enemies, but would you actually take a bullet for one?"

"I would." Hobbes replied, "I'd even take a bullet for Monroe."

"Well, I'm not so sure about that one. Maybe, maybe not. It depends on what she has done at the time or not. If I'm in a bad mood, well..."

Alex poked her head up from the back of the van, "I heard that, you know." Darien just smiled. "You know what Hobbes, I think I would just let I-Man here die. Like he said, why save someone who wouldn't save you if the situation were reversed." Alex stated with an evil grin.

"I'd take a bullet for you, you know." Hobbes said, looking at Darien.

"Yeah, I know that. But I definitely wouldn't take one for you." After Hobbes gave Darien a funny look he added, "I mean, if you die, I'd get Claire." Alex rolled her eyes and moved back toward the back of the van again.

Hobbes gave Darien a concerned look, his paranoia doing overtime. "You'd really let me die?"

Darien started to laugh. "I was only kidding, Hobbes."

Hobbes wrinkled his brow, "Yeah, I knew that."

"_Sure_ you did." Darien said, laughing again.

"Found it!" Alex said, stopping Hobbes from adding anything else. "Hobbes, you really need to clean this sorry excuse for a vehicle up, it's a mess!" She handed Darien a map, "Follow this and we should be there in no time."

~*~

Hobbes pulled the van into the parking lot, "Well kiddies, we're here."

"Oh yay!" Alex said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, don't be _so_ excited," Hobbes replied. He looked at Darien, who had fallen asleep during the 45 minute drive. "Wake up, Fawkes." After Darien didn't show any signs of hearing Hobbes he looked at Alex who smiled. She handed her water bottle to Hobbes and he used it to soak Darien.

"Ah!" Darien yelled, jumping from his seat in the van. He managed to hit his head on the roof. "That's freakin' cold!"

"Well, if you hadn't been off in la la land I wouldn't have had to use it." Hobbes replied. He and Alex got out of the van and Darien slowly followed. _At least the sun was shining'_, Darien thought. _I should be dry in no time.'_

"Oh no," Hobbes said, "what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, look who decided to show... Sorry, but you're a little late, this just became an FBI case." Jones said.

"When did that happen?" Darien asked.

"Probably while your screwball of a partner was out popping pills."

"You little twit!" Hobbes said, jumping at Jones.

Darien stepped between the two so he could stop the fight that he knew was bound to happen. "Hey Jonesy, maybe I should talk to your boss. I'm sure he wouldn't mind at all if we help on the case."

"Not at all, Mr. Fawkes." Matt Brooks, the leader of the FBI in that district said, standing behind Jones.

~*~

A Few Hours Later:

"You sure this is where Tyler Moore lives?" Hobbes asked. Getting stuck with Jones while Darien went off with Monroe to look for a break in the case was not his idea of fun. Jones was simply and plainly a jerk, and a pain in the butt.

"Hobbes, stop asking me questions. I know how to do my job. It's not my problem that you don't know how to do yours."

Hobbes wanted to smack the smug smile off of Jones' face, but decided it would be better if he didn't. They had a criminal to catch, and right now was not a good time for beating the crap out of Jones for being a smartass.

Hobbes and Jones got out of Jones' car and headed toward the house. "You go around back and I'll take the front."

Hobbes took off toward the back of the house. He would have preferred giving the orders instead of taking them, but he wanted to wrap up the case as fast as he could so he wouldn't have to work with Jones any longer. And arguing with the twit only made things take longer.

Hobbes pulled out his gun he made his way to the back door. He backed against the wall and tried the door knob. It was unlocked. He opened the door and slowly made his way into the house, being careful to pay attention to sounds as he went. He wanted to surprise the guy, not let a whole army know he was coming.

Jones on the other hand didn't care. Hobbes could hear him yell something but wasn't close enough to make out the words. Probably something stupid like, FBI, open up!' Hobbes tried not to laugh at the thought. It seemed like every time that was said the _bad guy'_ would come out alright, but with guns blazing.

Hobbes heard a crash sound and knew that meant Jones had probably kicked in the front door. He realized he was just a contingency plan in case Tyler tried to run. It made his job here even more boring. After combing the area and not finding anyone he headed toward the next room. Jones was already in there.

Hobbes motioned with his hands. After a few seconds he and Jones headed for the stairs to the basement; it was the last place to be checked. Searching the downstairs came up empty too. "I thought you said he was here."

"We have two agents posted outside watching the house. They said that no one has come or gone since last night."

"Yeah well, they were wrong."

"Actually, they were right."

Jones and Hobbes turned toward the voice. Tyler Moore was standing in front of them holding a gun to Jones' head. Hobbes automatically pointed his gun at Tyler.

"Drop your gun or I drop your partner. What's it going to be?"

"Damnit!" Was Hobbes' only reply. He slowly set his gun down and kicked it toward Tyler.

"Smart move, Mr. Hobbes."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things about the FBI, and people who used to work there."

Jones was trying to find some way out of the situation he was now in, but he was failing. His best try was for Hobbes to cause a distraction long enough for him to get Tyler's gun.

"They didn't tell you, did they? You see, I am one of their own. That's why the case is so important to them. The shrinks say I've gone crazy, the FBI just wants to get rid of me so that I won't tell the things that I know."

Hobbes glanced out the window to the black car where the undercover agents were supposed to be. "Don't bother trying to signal them. They're dead."

"You know Moore, it doesn't have to end like this. We can get you some help." Jones said.

"You and your kind have helped me enough!" Tyler yelled. "I should just kill you now and save someone else the trouble."

Hobbes was running out of time, and he knew it. Either Jones or him needed to create a distraction, or they would both wind up dead. He was stopped in mid thought by the sound of a car pulling in.

"Expecting someone?" Jones asked.

Tyler backed up toward the window, so he could see who had pulled in. He quickly glanced behind him and looked at the car. "Ah, Agent Alexandria Monroe and..." He looked back at Hobbes for a second and then back out the window, "I am guessing Agent Darien Fawkes. I guess I'll have to kill more people today then I thought I'd have to."

Jones took Tyler's distraction and used it for his own purpose. He slammed Tyler into the wall. But it wasn't enough force; he was greeted with the butt of the gun smashing against his skull. Jones crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Hobbes ran at Moore, trying to get the gun away. He saw no other options.

~*~

"Fawkes, over here." Alex said. She took off in a sprint toward the car that held the two FBI agents, sent to watch Moore. "Oh my God!" She said in shock, placing her hand over he mouth.

Darien was only a second behind her, but when he saw what had stopped Alex he had to look away. Both agents appeared to be dead. The first one had his head against the steering wheel of the car, a single gunshot wound to the head. His eyes were open and Alex walked over and closed them. Then she walked around to the passengers side of the small black car.

She checked for a pulse, and was surprised to find one. Quickly she tossed her cell phone to Darien. "Call an ambulance, this one is still alive." She looked in the car and saw that the carpet below the second agent was stained with blood. His blood. There was no telling whether he would make it or not; she guessed it was already too late.

Alex was trying to figure out a way to help him when she heard a gun go off. Immediately Darien took off in a run toward the house Hobbes and Jones were supposed to be in. Alex, seeing that she was no use out there, ran after Darien, drawing her gun as she went.

~*~

"Will you just give me the damn gun!" Hobbes yelled. Only seconds ago it had gone off when he had smashed Tyler's hand against the wall. At the moment the battle could go either way, and it didn't look too good for Hobbes. Tyler was trying to get it aimed at him and Hobbes was just trying to get the gun away from Moore.

~*~

Darien heard another shot and quicksilvered. He headed in the back door, looking for his partner. As soon as he got to the kitchen he saw someone running toward him, gun in hand. The man ran straight into Darien and fell backwards, hitting his head on the counter and knocking himself unconscious. Darien on the other hand ended up on the floor.

He got up and checked the man's pulse; seeing that he was alive he headed the way the man, who he could only guess was Tyler Moore, had come from.

~*~

Alex came through the front door, gun ready. She checked the room to make sure that it was clear. Right above the door leading to the living room was an open ceiling panel. It looked like someone had come down from the attic. Alex's thoughts were interrupted by the shaky voice of Darien. The panic in his voice along with the fear made her head straight to the room she knew he was in.

~*~

"Hobbes?" Darien said. He saw his partner lying on the floor, a gun shot wound to his lower abdomen. Hobbes started coughing up blood. Darien quickly made his way to Hobbes, stepping over the still unconscious Jones. He quicksilvered the wound, in hopes to stop the bleeding.

Darien had no idea what else to do. "Hang in there, buddy. Everything is going to be alright." Darien said, trying to convince himself more then Hobbes. He looked up and saw Alex come into the room, fear evident on her face. "Alex, call 911. Call an ambulance, something, quick!"

"There's already one on its way." Alex stated, not sure what else what to say. Except for when her son had been taken, she had never been so scared in her life.

~*~

A Few Days Later:

Darien had made all the arrangements; he even had made sure that Hobbes would be buried next to Kevin. He watched as people started to gather. This time it was a real funeral and he found himself wishing that he would look and find Hobbes standing behind a tree, trying to see what they all were saying about him. Darien lost his train of thought when he saw Jones walking toward him. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

"I came to pay my respects."

"Pay your respects, you want to pay your respects! You don't even have a right to be here!" Darien said, shoving Jones.

Jones stepped backwards a few feet from the force of Darien's shove. "What do you want me to say, Fawkes? You want to hear me say I am sorry, well, I am. But I can't change what happened any more then you can."

"Darien," Claire said, coming over to him and Jones. She placed her hand on his shoulder. She knew it wasn't Jones' fault, but Darien, so far, couldn't be told otherwise. Claire was guessing he was blaming himself for not doing more, even though there was nothing he could have done and also blaming Jones for living. The Official started to speak and Darien walked closer so he could hear. Claire followed. 

"Bobby Hobbes was like a son to me. I remember sitting in my big chair reading my field reports and Bobby would come to me, jerk on my pants leg and say, Lets go play fatman.' That was his little term, an endearment for me." The Official looked over at Claire and saw that she was crying. "I would like to suggest that we retire that name in honor of Bobby Hobbes. Bobby Hobbes wasn't just a good agent, he wasn't just a good man, he was a good son. I'm going to miss him." 

The Official stepped away from the platform he was on and headed back into the crowd. He stopped and gave Claire a hug and then Darien. Darien walked over the the platform and stepped onto it. "I have no idea what to say. Last night I wrote a little something down on a piece of paper to read today, but I don't think that it could do him justice. Bobby Hobbes was a hero. He did things without any regard for himself, but for the lives of others."

Claire started to cry even harder. "I wanted to have some kind of snappy quote or something for today, but the more I thought the more I realized that the best thing I could say here today was something from my heart. He didn't deserve to die, and he especially didn't deserve to die the way that he did." 

Darien walked down from the platform and went over to the casket that Hobbes was in. "You were a great guy Bobby. And I was proud to call you my friend, but even prouder to call you my brother." Darien set an American flag down on the casket. "I wish things could have been different, I wish I could have taken your place." Even though Darien had been trying not to cry he failed. "I wish it were me in there and not you." 

The Rabbi stepped up and said a few words in Hebrew and then 

Darien watched as six men, probably hired by the Agency, took their rifles and fired them in the air in sequence. Then they took the normal sized American flag that had been laid on the casket and folded it into a small triangle. When they were done one of them men handed it to the Official.

Darien walked away, Claire, Alex, Eberts, and the Official followed close behind him. As soon as they were out of sight the Official stopped Darien. "I think this belongs to you." He handed the flag to Darien; then he walked away.

~*~

Darien sat down at his kitchen counter and opened a beer. Claire, Alex and Eberts had come to his house to discuss Hobbes as one last goodbye. Alex was the first to speak up. "Is the Official coming?"

"I invited him," Darien replied. "But he probably had better things to do."

"I'm am sorry to say this, but did anyone else notice what the Official said at the funeral?" Eberts asked.

"Yeah," Alex replied, "It was actually kind of sweet."

"It gave me the feeling of déjà vu." Claire admitted.

"That's because he's said it before." Darien replied, "At Hobbes' first funeral. The cheap bastard couldn't even come up with something new."

"I'm going to miss him." Alex said, trying to break the ice. "In just a short time Hobbes befriended me, no questions asked. Hobbes treated me like a person and not some cold uncaring wannabe agent. Sure, we had our fights and disagreements... But it was an honor to know him. He let me fit in, and excepted me the way I was."

"Bobby was a great person, and a great friend. When we first met we bumped heads a lot and I wouldn't give him the time of day. Then after that, when I thought he had died, I realized..." Claire started to cry again and this time Alex put her hand on Claire's shoulder. Claire continued. "I realized that I was in love with him. I don't know why I never told him. Part of me thought I didn't have to, that he already knew. But now I wish I would have said something."

"He loved you too." Darien said.

"I would like to believe he did." Claire replied.

"He did," Alex added. "I heard him say it out of his own mouth."

"He told you that?" Claire asked.

"When we got the dud bomb from Javier we had thought it was real. At the last second when we couldn't defuse it and we thought we were going to die his last words were, I love you Claire.' I would have told you sooner, but I promised him I wouldn't."

It was Eberts' turn to speak and he had no idea how to even start. "Like you all have already said, Robert was a good man. At first I didn't like him, but after awhile, well, actually when I hid Adam Reese and lied to the Official about it, he started be nice to me. Even stopped calling me names for a while. We become friends, and I couldn't ask for a nicer friend them him."

"To Hobbes." Darien said, holding up his beer.

"To Hobbes." Claire, Alex and Eberts said. Beer bottles clinked together as they made their toast.

Finished... The End... You can stop reading now... No, really. There's nothing left to be said... Okay, so I lied.

*A special thank you to Liz for helping with the plot and Beta Reading this fic. And also, thanks to her for getting me back into a writing mood. Oh, and helping me by choosing the title and umm... Well, actually, I wouldn't even have gotten this fic done if it wasn't for her... So thank you Liz!!!*

Naomi 


End file.
